Point your nameservers

After purchasing, your domain needs to point to Karajohn's nameservers before it can go live. This usually takes 1–24 hours.

Set both nameservers at the same time. The order doesn't matter.

Your nameservers

ns1.karajohnserver.com ns2.karajohnserver.com

Step-by-step by registrar

Go to namecheap.com and click Sign In.

Open Domain List

Click Domain List in the left sidebar, then click Manage next to your domain.

Switch to Custom DNS

In the Nameservers section, select Custom DNS from the dropdown.

Enter nameservers

Add ns1.karajohnserver.com and ns2.karajohnserver.com. Click the green checkmark to save.

Go to godaddy.com and sign in to your account.

Go to My Domains

Click your name top-right → My Products → find your domain → click DNS.

Change nameservers

Scroll to the Nameservers section → click Change → select Enter my own nameservers.

Enter nameservers

Type ns1.karajohnserver.com and ns2.karajohnserver.com → click Save.

Go to dash.cloudflare.com and open your domain.

Open DNS settings

Click DNS in the left sidebar → Settings tab → scroll to Nameservers.

Switch to custom

Click Change nameservers → switch to Custom nameservers.

Enter nameservers

Add ns1.karajohnserver.com and ns2.karajohnserver.com → Save.

Cloudflare proxying must be disabled (grey cloud) — Karajohn manages DNS directly.

Open Google Domains

Go to domains.google.com and select your domain.

Go to DNS

Click DNS in the left sidebar.

Custom name servers

Scroll to Custom name servers → click Switch to these settings.

Add nameservers

Enter ns1.karajohnserver.com and ns2.karajohnserver.com → Save.

What happens next

Propagation (1–24 hours)

DNS changes spread across the internet. Most update within 1–2 hours.

Automatic provisioning

We detect the change automatically and finish setting up your hosting — no action needed from you.

Your site goes live

You'll see the domain status change to Active in your dashboard. Your SSL certificate is issued automatically.

Connect email to your device

Add your custom email (e.g. you@yourdomain.com) to your phone, tablet, or desktop mail client.

Server settings

Setting	Value
Mail server	`mail.karajohnserver.com`
IMAP port (incoming)	`993` with SSL
SMTP port (outgoing)	`587` with STARTTLS
Username	Your full email address
Password	The password you set in the dashboard

iPhone / iPad

Open Settings

Go to Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account.

Choose Other

Scroll down and tap Other → Add Mail Account.

Enter your details

Name, email address, password, and a description. Tap Next.

Configure IMAP

Select IMAP. Under Incoming Mail Server enter host mail.karajohnserver.com, port 993, SSL on. Under Outgoing Mail Server enter the same host, port 587, SSL on.

Save

Tap Save. Your email will start syncing within a few seconds.

Android (Gmail app)

Open Gmail settings

Open the Gmail app → tap your avatar → Add another account → Other.

Enter email and password

Type your full email address and tap Next.

Choose IMAP

Select IMAP when asked what type of account.

Incoming settings

Server: mail.karajohnserver.com, Port: 993, Security: SSL/TLS.

Outgoing settings

SMTP server: mail.karajohnserver.com, Port: 587, Security: STARTTLS.

Outlook (Windows/Mac)

Add account

Open Outlook → File → Add Account. Enter your email and click Advanced options → Let me set up my account manually.

Choose IMAP

Select IMAP from the account type list.

Enter server details

Incoming: mail.karajohnserver.com port 993 SSL. Outgoing: mail.karajohnserver.com port 587 STARTTLS.

You can also access your email from any browser at mail.karajohnserver.com/mail using Roundcube webmail.

Manage email accounts

Create mailboxes for your domain from the dashboard and access them via Roundcube or any mail client.

Create a mailbox

Open your domain

Go to your dashboard and click on the domain you want to add an email address to.

Click Email

Click the Email button in the domain header.

Add a mailbox

Enter the local part (the part before @) and a strong password. Click Create.

The full email address will be localpart@yourdomain.com. Use your chosen password to connect via IMAP or log in to webmail.

Access webmail

Visit mail.karajohnserver.com/mail and sign in with your full email address and password. Roundcube lets you read, compose, and organise your email from any browser.

Delete a mailbox

In the Email section, click the trash icon next to the mailbox. This permanently deletes the mailbox and all its messages. There is no undo.

Access your database

Each domain has its own MariaDB database. You can manage it visually using phpMyAdmin — no SQL knowledge required for basic tasks.

Open phpMyAdmin

Open your domain

Go to your dashboard and click on your domain.

Find the Database card

On the Overview tab, scroll to the Database card.

Click phpMyAdmin

Click the phpMyAdmin link in the top-right corner of the Database card. You'll be taken directly to phpMyAdmin, already logged in.

The auto-login link expires after 5 minutes. If it doesn't work, go back to your dashboard and click Database again.

Your database details

Your database credentials are shown in your domain settings. You'll need them if you're configuring an application manually (e.g. a custom PHP app).

Detail	Where to find it
Database name	Domain settings in the dashboard
Username	Domain settings in the dashboard
Password	Domain settings in the dashboard
Host	`127.0.0.1`
Port	`3306`

WordPress quick start

Install WordPress in one click, then get to know your admin panel and the basics of building your site.

Install WordPress

Open your domain

Go to your dashboard and click on your domain.

Click Install → WordPress

Click the Install button and select WordPress. Confirm the installation — any existing files will be replaced.

Save your credentials

After installation, your admin username and password are shown. Save them — they won't be displayed again.

Installing WordPress replaces any existing site on this domain. All files and database content will be cleared first.

Log in to WordPress admin

Go to https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin and enter the admin credentials shown after installation.

Reset your admin password

Open your domain in the dashboard

Find the WordPress admin section on the domain detail page.

Click Reset admin password

A 6-digit verification code will be sent to your account email.

Enter the code

Enter the code in the dashboard. A new secure password is generated and shown immediately.

Recommended first steps

Change your site title

Settings → General → Site Title

Choose a theme

Appearance → Themes → Add New. Search for a free theme or upload a premium one.

Install essential plugins

Plugins → Add New. Recommended: Yoast SEO, WPForms, WP Super Cache.

Create your first page

Pages → Add New. Build your homepage, about page, and contact page.

Git push-to-deploy

Edit files locally, push from your terminal, and your site updates instantly. No FTP, no manual uploads.

Enable Git deploy

Open your domain

Go to your dashboard and click on your domain.

Click Enable Git deploy

Find the Git push-to-deploy card and click Enable. A Git repository is created and your existing site files are imported into it automatically.

Save your credentials

Copy the Remote URL, username, and password shown in the card. The password is only shown once — save it now.

Clone your site to your computer

Run this once to download your site’s files to your machine. Your existing files are already in the repository.

git clone https://cp.karajohnserver.com/git/yourdomain.com.git
# Enter your username and password when prompted
cd yourdomain.com

Git will remember your credentials after the first clone if you have a credential helper set up (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, or git config --global credential.helper store on Linux).

Make changes and deploy

Edit files locally, then push — your site updates immediately after each push.

# Edit your files, then:
git add .
git commit -m "describe your change"
git push origin main

Every push to main deploys automatically. Files are live within a few seconds of the push completing.

Connecting an existing local project

If you already have a local git repository you want to connect instead of cloning:

git remote add origin https://cp.karajohnserver.com/git/yourdomain.com.git
git push --force origin main

Using --force replaces everything in the remote repo with your local files. Only do this if you want your local project to become the source of truth for the site.

What gets deployed

Everything in the repository root is deployed to your site’s public_html/ folder. Put your index.html, CSS, JS, images, and PHP files at the top level of your repo.

Git deploy works best for static sites and custom code. For WordPress sites, use the dashboard file manager or WordPress admin panel instead — WordPress stores uploads and settings in the database which git doesn’t manage.

How backups work

Backups run automatically on a schedule that depends on your plan. Every backup captures both your files and your database. You can restore from any backup in one click using the calendar view in your dashboard.

Backup schedule by plan

Plan	Automatic schedule	What's backed up	How far back
Basic / Starter	Every Sunday at 2 AM	Files + database	4 weeks
Standard / Business	Every day at 2 AM	Files + database	30 days daily, then weekly up to 3 months
Pro	Every day at 2 AM + DB-only at midnight, 6 AM, noon & 6 PM	Full backup daily · database-only every 6 hours	Same as Standard for full backups · last 7 days for DB snapshots

All backup times are UTC. Times shown in the dashboard are converted to your local timezone.

Retention — how many backups are kept

Basic / Starter — weekly

One backup per week is kept for 4 weeks, plus one per month for the past 2 months. After that, older backups are automatically removed. Maximum ~6 snapshots on disk at any time.

Standard / Business — daily

One backup per day for 30 days. Beyond 30 days, one per week for up to 8 weeks, then one per month for up to 3 months. You can go back up to ~3 months. Maximum ~37 snapshots.

Pro — daily files + 6-hour DB snapshots

Same full-backup retention as Standard/Business. In addition, database-only snapshots run every 6 hours — the last 28 are kept (7 days of coverage). These appear as a separate section in the calendar view so you can restore just the database to any 6-hour checkpoint within the past week.

The backup calendar

Open your domain and click the Backups tab. You'll see a monthly calendar. Each day that has a backup shows a coloured dot:

Full backup (files + database)

DB-only snapshot (Pro)

Click any day with a dot to expand a panel below the calendar showing the exact backup time and restore buttons. Use the arrow buttons to navigate to previous months.

Manual backups

Click Back up now at any time to create an on-demand backup. Manual backups capture files and database just like automatic ones.

Manual backups are not pruned immediately — they're kept alongside your scheduled backups until the next automatic run, which then applies your plan's retention policy.

Restore from a backup

Open your domain → Backups tab

Go to your dashboard, open the domain, and click the Backups tab in the domain navigation.

Find the date on the calendar

Click on any day that has a coloured dot. A panel appears below the calendar showing the backups for that day.

Choose what to restore

Click Files to restore website files only, or DB to restore the database only. You can restore either independently.

Confirm

Read the warning — it shows exactly what will be replaced and the date/time of the snapshot. Click Yes, restore to proceed.

Restoring a backup overwrites your current files or database with the snapshot version. Any changes made after that snapshot will be lost. There is no undo — if unsure, create a manual backup first.

Upgrade or downgrade your plan

Change your plan at any time from your domain detail page. Billing is prorated automatically.

How to change your plan

Open your domain

Go to your dashboard and click on the domain you want to change.

Click the Plan tab

Click Plan in the domain navigation. All available plans are listed with your current one highlighted.

Click Upgrade or Downgrade

Confirm your choice in the popup. Upgrades redirect to Stripe for immediate payment of the prorated difference. Downgrades take effect immediately with a credit on your next invoice.

How proration works

Upgrading

You pay only for the remaining days of the current billing period at the higher rate. Payment is collected immediately via Stripe.

Downgrading

The credit for unused time on the higher plan is applied to your next invoice automatically.

DNS records explained

DNS records control where your domain points and what services are associated with it. Here's what each type does.

Common record types

Type	What it does	Example
A	Points your domain to an IP address	`@ → 167.233.110.62`
CNAME	Creates an alias pointing to another domain	`www → yourdomain.com`
MX	Directs email to your mail server	`@ → mail.karajohnserver.com`
TXT	Stores text data (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, verification)	`v=spf1 mx -all`

Some records are locked and cannot be deleted — these are essential for your site and email to work correctly (A, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

TTL (Time To Live)

TTL controls how long DNS servers cache your records. A lower TTL (e.g. 300 seconds / 5 minutes) means changes spread faster but adds more DNS queries. The default of 3600 (1 hour) is fine for most records.

Email records

SPF

Tells receiving servers which IPs are allowed to send email for your domain. Prevents spoofing.

DKIM

A cryptographic signature added to every outgoing email. Proves the email wasn't modified in transit.

DMARC

Policy that tells receivers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks. We set this to p=quarantine for you.

Troubleshooting

Solutions to the most common issues.

Site not loading after changing nameservers

Cause: DNS propagation takes time — usually 1–2 hours, sometimes up to 24 hours.

Check: Visit dnschecker.org and enter your domain to see if the nameservers have updated globally.

Fix: Wait. Once NS records propagate, your dashboard status will update to Active automatically.

SSL certificate error

Cause: SSL is issued after nameservers propagate. If you see a certificate warning, the domain likely hasn't fully propagated yet.

Fix: Wait for the domain to go Active in your dashboard. SSL is issued automatically — no action needed.

Email going to spam

Cause: New domains have no sending reputation. Email providers are cautious about new senders.

Fix: Ask your recipients to mark the email as Not Spam. After 2–4 weeks of consistent sending, your domain builds a reputation and inbox placement improves.

Can't log in to email on iPhone

Check these settings:

Setting	Correct value
Incoming host	`mail.karajohnserver.com`
Incoming port	`993`
Incoming SSL	On
Outgoing host	`mail.karajohnserver.com`
Outgoing port	`587`
Outgoing SSL	On (STARTTLS)
Username	Full email address

Forgot WordPress admin password

Go to your dashboard → open your domain → find the WordPress Admin section → click Reset admin password. A verification code is sent to your email.

File manager shows permission denied

All files are owned by the web server user. You can read, edit, and upload files through the dashboard file manager. Direct SSH file editing is not supported.

Still stuck?

Email us at support@karajohnserver.com and we'll help you out.